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irren

to wander lost, to stray

verb IR-ren Rare
Travel & Places Movement

Also means

to be mistaken

Usage Note

irren in its movement sense means to wander without direction, unable to find one's way (durch die Straßen irren — to wander lost through the streets). The senses 'to be wrong' and 'to wander' both derive from the same root idea of going astray; sich irren means to make an error.

Examples

"Ohne Karte irrten wir stundenlang durch das Labyrinth der Gassen."

Natural Translation

Without a map we wandered for hours through the labyrinth of alleyways.

Literal Translation

Without a map we wandered for hours through the labyrinth of the alleyways.

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